Kelly Monaco won the first round of the ABC contest -- then returned last fall for "Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars" -- and
Ingo Rademacher will compete in Season 16 starting Monday, March 18. But soap-opera icon Geary, who holds a record of seven Daytime Emmy wins for outstanding lead actor as "GH's" Luke Spencer, believes "Dancing" likely is an idea whose time is up for him.

"I don't know that I would do it, but it would have been nice to be asked," he tells
Zap2it. "I did start as a dancer years ago. I started my career in musical theater, and I worked Las Vegas; I was a show boy, marching the feathered ladies across the stage and what not, so I have a background in it ... and a great appreciation for dancers.

"I love Kelly Monaco," adds Geary. "I adore her, and I'm so proud of what she did [winning Season 1 of 'Dancing']. She's one of my favorite people on our show. And good for Ingo for doing it. There was a time a few years ago when I would have loved to have done ['Dancing'], but I think that time has passed."

With so many "General Hospital" veterans now passing through the ABC serial as it heads toward its 50th-anniversary celebration Monday, April 1, Geary says he wouldn't be surprised if some of them were to turn up in future "Dancing With the Stars" seasons -- especially since many of them will appear in the soap's newly revived Nurses' Ball.

"That's kind of the conceit they're using to bring so many of them back," Geary confirms. "Unfortunately,
Genie (
Francis, who has returned as Laura to Geary's Luke) and I will be off on a great adventure during that period, so we're not involved in that at all. And I feel a little bit bad about it."